Regarding the significance of historic era farmstead sites, a Midwest SHPO
archeologist has opined that there are no significant research questions that
can be asked regarding farmstead sites that date from 1890 and later.  Broad
research questions such as learning about lifeways or social standing are
either insufficiently detailed to be important questions and also have been
(or can be) answered elsewhere.  Evidence of ethnicity, we are told, has
seldom been revealed in most excavations.  After 1890, the documentary record
is said to be sufficient to document agricultural practices in the Midwest.
As an historian, I would certainly welcome comments from the archeologists who
have grappled with the significance of late 19th century and early 20th
century farmstead sites.  Is it possible to have an NRHP-eligible historic
farmstead site under Criterion D?  What could the important research questions
be?
 
B.J. Henning, Rivercrest Associates, Inc